The Rorschach test (ink blot test) is a personality test that has entered pop culture for good. These are known blots of butterflies, human faces, animals or objects that each of us interprets in our own way. Read what exactly the Rorschach test is about!

Rorschach testYou've probably seen it in more than one American movie or read about it in one of the articles on the Internet. However, it should be emphasized that its use as a research tool has been abandoned today. Read what exactly the Rorschach test is about!

Rorschach test (ink stain test): what is it about?

The Rorschach test is the so-called a projection test that was created about 100 years ago by the Swiss psychoanalyst and painter Hermann Rorschach. The test is designed to examine the personality traits, hidden thoughts, deviations and mental disorders of the respondent.

The test consists of 10 tables with ink blots, including 5 gray-black, 2 gray-red and 3 colored tables. The boards are presented to the examined person, who tells what he sees on them.

During the test, the response time is measured, and then the so-called subject's psychogram. The psychogram is designed to show the most important and, at the same time, unconscious areas of the subject's personality. It should be emphasized that the usefulness of this test is denied by most psychoanalysts.

Rorschach test (ink stain test): how does it work?

Take a look at the following 10 psychodiagnostic cards. Give free answers, what do you associate each with?

Card I

Seeing the I card, the respondents often give associated answers as: bat, butterfly, moth. This board is relatively simple, it provides information on how the subject is solving new or stressful tasks.

Card II

Seeing card II, the respondents often answer: two people, a four-legged animal, e.g. a dog, elephant or bear, and the red elements are interpreted as blood. Sometimes there are responses related to sexual associations. This card is intended to answer the question of how the respondent deals with feelings of anger or physical trauma.

CardIII

With card III, the most common associations of the respondents are: a human, two people, some figures, and these two people interact in some way. This card may answer the question of how the subject relates to other people. If the answer is long, it requires reflection, it may indicate difficulties in social contacts.

Card IV

Card IV is the so-called "Father's Card" because it indicates attitudes towards people and authorities. It can be problematic for people with depression. Most often it is associated with a hidden animal, animal skin, a (leather) carpet or with a man: threatening or looking down. The object on the card is most often associated with the male gender, with the male, and less often with the female.

V card

When people see card V after a series of challenges from the previous tables, they often already feel a certain relief. The card is relatively easy to interpret. The respondents indicate: a bat, a butterfly, a moth.

VI card

We go to the so-called This is because of its texture, which evokes associations of closeness. Apart from that, the respondents often see a hidden animal or its skin, a carpet (of course leather).

Card VII

Card VII is the "Mother's Card" and is interpreted by the respondents as human heads or faces, there can also be one head; heads of women or children. Interestingly, sometimes a central detail is interpreted as a vagina. The card is to answer the question that the respondent has concerns about the presence of women in his life and is strongly related to human sexuality.

Card VIII

The first multi-colored card that evokes a sense of relief and gives you breath, on the other hand, such a multi-colored board may pose some problems with interpretation. The most common associations of the respondents are: a four-legged animal, for example a dog. In this card we will examine how complex situations and new emotional stimuli are processed.

Card IX

The X chart is scattered colors which cause ambiguity in the reading. The respondents often point to the figure of a human being, it can be orange in color. This table tells us about problems with dealing with disordered data.

Card X

The last card causes relaxation and final stimulation of fantasy, on the other hand, the multitude of stimuli may cause some problems with interpretation. Card participants often see crab, lobster,spiders, rabbit head, caterpillars, worms or snakes.

Rorschach test: controversy

The Rorschach test has always aroused a lot of extreme emotions, it is even called pseudoscientific, biased and unreliable.

Most of these cards are often unclear in interpretation. It is up to a specific person how he treats the test results, and if he is looking for the right answers, it is best to turn to the appropriate specialist - a psychologist or psychiatrist. The operation of the human psyche is not a game of reading ink stains.

Also read

Schrödinger's cat: what is this thought experiment about?

8 psychological experiments that tell a lot about us

Psychological tests: what are they and what are they?

About the authorKatarzyna Płuska-SkoczylasSpecialist in social communication and human resources management, author of the website "Softly about competences" www.katarzynapluska.pl and creator of many expert publications: articles, e-books, online courses in social and professional skills; education manager, inactive sales department specialist. Graduate of MA studies in "Social Communication and Self-governance" (Adam Mickiewicz University) and postgraduate studies in "Human Resource Management" (Lodz University of Technology). Creator of the publication "Employee evaluation system", publishing house "Problems of human resource management in the organization of the 21st century" - collective work edited by Józef Penc (Łódź 2007). A type of industrious extrovert; soft skills lover - soft skills and human resources.

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Category:

Psychology